US 12,263,976 B2
Rotary filling machine
Joshua A. Schwartz, Mount Pleasant, WI (US); James R. Knudsen, Racine, WI (US); Ronald B. Brandt, Mount Pleasant, WI (US); James P. Navin, Burlington, WI (US); Anthony D. Stefanelli, Boyceville, WI (US); Darren Beahler, West Allis, WI (US); and Andrew Boles, Kenosha, WI (US)
Assigned to Spee-Dee Packaging Machinery, Inc., Sturtevant, WI (US)
Filed by Spee-Dee Packaging Machinery, Inc., Sturtevant, WI (US)
Filed on May 10, 2022, as Appl. No. 17/662,708.
Application 17/662,708 is a continuation in part of application No. 17/306,115, filed on May 3, 2021, abandoned.
Application 17/306,115 is a continuation of application No. 16/577,776, filed on Sep. 20, 2019, granted, now 10,994,879, issued on May 4, 2021.
Prior Publication US 2022/0267041 A1, Aug. 25, 2022
Int. Cl. B65B 43/50 (2006.01); B65B 1/06 (2006.01); B65B 1/30 (2006.01); B65B 39/00 (2006.01); B67C 11/02 (2006.01)
CPC B65B 43/50 (2013.01) [B65B 1/06 (2013.01); B65B 1/30 (2013.01); B65B 39/007 (2013.01); B67C 11/02 (2013.01); B65B 2039/009 (2013.01)] 22 Claims
OG exemplary drawing
 
1. A rotary filling machine comprising:
a rotatable fill plate including fill openings defined therein;
a plurality of circumferentially spaced drop buckets mounted above the fill plate and configured to rotate with the fill plate, each drop bucket having:
a plurality of sidewalls surrounding a volume, the sidewalls including an inner radial wall, an outer radial wall, a first sidewall, and a second sidewall, wherein the volume is bounded from above by a top opening and from below by a bottom opening;
a wear plate located over the fill plate and disposed below the drop buckets; and
a plurality of couplers, each coupler including a first connector extending from an outer surface of the inner radial wall of an associated drop bucket at a location adjacent of a bottom end of the drop bucket and a second connector extending upward from the wear plate, wherein the first and second connectors are configured to interfit with each other to mount the drop bucket on an upper surface of the wear plate.